Sleep Induction Device and Sleep Induction Method

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a sleep induction device which exhibits excellent hypnotic effects using light rather than ultrasonic waves or electrical voltages to induce sleep. When the face of a patient is irradiated with diffused ultra narrow band light having a FWHM of 10 nm or less, the specified wavelength of light has excellent hypnotic effects. The sleep induction device is provided with: an ultra narrow band light irradiation means which generates a blue to green ultra narrow band light having a FWHM of 10 nm or less and a peak wavelength range of 430-550 nm; and a diffusion means for reducing the illumination intensity of the light irradiated from the ultra narrow band light irradiation means onto the skin surface of the face to 1-300 lux, and expanding the emission area to the entire face. The green ultra narrow band light has a sleep-inducing effect, and the blue one has a stronger sleep-inducing effect.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a sound sleep inducing apparatus and asound sleep inducing method which leads people to sound sleep bydiffusing ultra-narrow band light in blue to green having a halfbandwidth of 10 nm or less and projecting the light to the entire faceof a person.

BACKGROUND ART

A sound sleep inducing apparatus using an ultrasonic wave (PatentDocument 1, for example), a sound sleep inducing apparatus which leadspeople to sound sleep by using an a wave and a θ wave emitted from alight emitting body (Patent Document 2, for example), and a relaxationassisting apparatus which applies a negative voltage and relaxes a humanbody (Patent Document 3, for example) have been known as apparatuses forinducing sleep or giving relaxation effects.

The inventor is a doctor and has been practicing provision ofinformation and consulting relating to aesthetic dermatologic treatment.The inventor has been keenly examining a skin care method which does notcause a trouble in the skin even after a long use and can obtain safeand sufficient effects in short time through the practice.

-   [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-199831 A-   [Patent Document 1] JP 1996-229131 A-   [Patent Document 1] JP 2002/028464 A1

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

The inventor has obtained finding that, in a beauty clinic managed byhimself, if an ultra-narrow band light having a half bandwidth of 10 nmor less is diffused and projected to the face of a subject, light havinga specific wavelength has an excellent hypnotic effect. Moreover, theinventor was convinced through experiments that the hypnotic effect isexcellent and cannot be obtained by usual light having a wider halfbandwidth. The invention has an object to provide a sound sleep inducingapparatus and a sound sleep inducing method with a high hypnotic effectwithout using ultrasonic waves or voltage as in the prior-artapparatuses but using light.

Means to Solve the Objects

The inventor has found that if an ultra-narrow band light having a halfbandwidth of 10 nm or less is diffused and projected to the face of apatient, light having a specific wavelength has an excellent hypnoticeffect and has completed a sound sleep inducing apparatus according tothe present invention. In this description, the light having the halfbandwidth of 10 nm or less is referred to as ultra-narrow band light andis distinguished from single-color light of a usual LED (light emittingdiode) (the half bandwidth is 20 to 40 nm). The half bandwidth refers toa width of a wavelength of light having intensity half of the centerwavelength (peak wavelength) of a light source.

That is, in order to solve the above problems, a sound sleep inducingapparatus in a first aspect according to the present invention includes:

1-1) ultra-narrow band light projecting means which emits ultra-narrowband light in blue to green having a peak wavelength area of 430 to 550nm and a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less;1-2) diffusing means which diffuse an irradiation area of the lightprojected from the ultra-narrow band light projecting means to theentire face of a person; and1-3) illuminance adjusting means which adjusts illuminance at a positionof an eye in the face to 1 to 300 lux.

According to the above configuration, the light can be projected to theentire face of the subject, and an action to induce sleep or to awakecan be exerted. The ultra-narrow band light having the half bandwidth of10 nm or less has been in the laser state, and the laser beam has adefect that its brightness is too high to induce sleep. Thus, in thepresent invention, the ultra-narrow band light having the half bandwidthof 10 nm or less is passed through a concave lens and diffused. Thegreen ultra-narrow band light having the half bandwidth of 10 nm or lesshas a sleep inducing effect, and the blue ultra-narrow band light has aparticularly strong sleep inducing effect.

The illuminance adjusting means adjusts the illuminance at a position ofan eye in the face to 1 to 300 lux. It was found by an experiment on apatient that adjustment to a range of 20 to 250 lux is particularlypreferable. The illuminance adjusting means specifically adjusts lightsource intensity of the ultra-narrow band light projecting means,adjusts a diffusion degree of the diffusing means, and adjusts adistance between the light source of the ultra-narrow band lightprojecting means and the face. Moreover, the illuminance on the facesurface may be measured by placing an illuminance sensor on the facesurface or by measuring light reflected by a mirror placed on the facesurface by using an illuminance sensor built in the ultra-narrow bandlight projecting means.

Moreover, a sound sleep inducing apparatus in a second aspect accordingto the present invention includes:

2-1) ultra-narrow band light projecting means which generates blueultra-narrow band light having a peak wavelength area of 430 to 500 nmand a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less;2-2) diffusing means which diffuses an irradiation area of the lightprojected from the ultra-narrow band light projecting means to theentire face of a person; and2-3) illuminance adjusting means which adjusts illuminance at a positionof an eye in the face to 1 to 300 lux.

According to the above configuration, a strong sleep inducing effect canbe obtained. It was clinically demonstrated that a stronger sleepinducing effect can be obtained by irradiating the entire face with theblue ultra-narrow band light having the half bandwidth of 10 nm or lesswith a predetermined illuminance than irradiation of blue single light(half bandwidth of 20 to 40 nm) emitted by a usual LED light source.Specifically, 40 to 60 persons out of 100 subjects obtained a sleepinducing effect when blue single light (half bandwidth of 20 to 40 nm)was projected by a usual LED light source, while 80 persons or moreobtained a sleep inducing effect if the blue ultra-narrow band lighthaving the half bandwidth of 10 nm or less was projected to the eyeposition in the face with a predetermined illuminance. It was also foundthrough the experiment that the blue light is preferably adjusted to arange of 20 to 120 lux.

Moreover, a sound sleep inducing apparatus in a third aspect accordingto the present invention includes:

3-1) ultra-narrow band light projecting means which generates greenultra-narrow band light having a peak wavelength area of 500 to 550 nmand a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less;3-2) diffusing means which diffuse an irradiation area of the lightprojected from the ultra-narrow band light projecting means to theentire face of a person; and3-3) illuminance adjusting means which adjusts illuminance at a positionof an eye in the face to 1 to 300 lux.

According to the above configuration, a relaxing and gentle sleepinducing effect can be obtained. It was clinically demonstrated that anexcellent sleep inducing effect can be obtained by irradiating theentire face with the green ultra-narrow band light having the halfbandwidth of 10 nm or less with a predetermined illuminance thanirradiation of green single light (half bandwidth of 20 to 40 nm)emitted by a usual LED light source. Specifically, not more than 40persons out of 100 subjects obtained a sleep inducing effect when greensingle light (half bandwidth of 20 to 40 nm) was projected by an LEDlight source, while 60 persons or more obtained a sleep inducing effectif the green ultra-narrow band light having the half bandwidth of 10 nmor less was projected to the eye position in the face with apredetermined illuminance. It was also found through the experiment thatblue light is preferably adjusted to a range of 50 to 250 lux.

Moreover, in the sound sleep inducing apparatus in the first aspectaccording to the present invention, the ultra-narrow band lightprojecting means further includes first ultra-narrow band lightprojecting means which generates blue ultra-narrow band light having apeak wavelength area of 430 to 500 nm and a half bandwidth of 10 nm orless, second ultra-narrow band light projecting means which generatesgreen ultra-narrow band light having a peak wavelength area of 500 to550 nm and a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less, light-source switchingmeans which switches between the first ultra-narrow band lightprojecting means and the second ultra-narrow band light projectingmeans, and control means which outputs a switching signal to thelight-source switching means.

According to the above configuration, sleep induction can be gentlyperformed by alternately using the blue ultra-narrow band light having astrong sleep inducing effect and the green ultra-narrow band lighthaving a relaxing and sleep inducing effect. The control meanspreferably outputs output signals alternately to the first ultra-narrowband light projecting means and the second ultra-narrow band lightprojecting means with a predetermined time interval, since deep sleep isinduced by alternately irradiating the entire face with the green andblue lights from the respective LEDs. The predetermined time isapproximately 1 minute, and the sleep inducing effect is exerted inapproximately 10 minutes.

In this case, the illuminance adjusting means preferably adjusts theilluminance at the eye position in the face to 20 to 120 lux for theprojection from the first ultra-narrow band light projecting means andto 50 to 250 lux for the projection from the second ultra-narrow bandlight projecting means. Each color has its own optimal illuminance, andthe illuminance is adjusted in accordance with switching of colors.

Moreover, in the sound sleep inducing apparatus in the first to thirdaspects, the half bandwidth of the ultra-narrow band light projectingmeans is more preferably 3 nm or less. Projection of the ultra-narrowband light having the half bandwidth of 3 nm or less by using a bandpassfilter with a narrower area than projection of the ultra-narrow bandlight having the half bandwidth of 10 nm or less was found to obtain ahigher sleep inducing effect from experiments.

Moreover, in the sound sleep inducing apparatus in the first to thirdaspects, energy at the irradiated portion in the human face is set to1.0 J/cm² or less. Laser beam has high energy, but the recent progressof LED has achieved higher irradiation energy. In the sound sleepinducing apparatus in the first to third aspects, the energy at theirradiated portion in the human face is set to 1.0 J/cm² or less. Theirradiation time is 5 to 15 minutes and approximately 33 minutes at thelongest.

Moreover, in the sound sleep inducing apparatus in the first to thirdaspects, the ultra-narrow band light projecting means is specificallycomposed of an LED light source and a bandpass filter which narrows thewavelength band of the light emitted from the LED light source. Even ifan LED light source capable of projecting the ultra-narrow band lighthaving the half bandwidth of 10 nm or less is developed in the future,the ultra-narrow band light having further narrower half bandwidth canbe created by the above configuration of the ultra-narrow band lightprojecting means, that is, the configuration of the LED light source andthe bandpass filter.

Moreover, in the sound sleep inducing apparatus in the first to thirdaspects, the diffusing means is specifically composed of at least anyone of a concave lens, a diffusing lens, a cylindrical lens and adiffusing plate. Among them, a diffusing lens can be suitably used fromthe viewpoint of minimizing attenuation of a light amount.

Moreover, if a cylindrical lens is used as the diffusing means, twocylindrical lenses are arranged in directions orthogonal to each otherin use. In general, a cylindrical lens is used in an applicationrequiring magnification adjustment only in one direction and forms animage only in one direction, but since the same image forming formula asa spherical lens is true for the cylindrical lens, the first cylindricallens collimates the beam in one direction and the second cylindricallens collimates the beam also in the direction orthogonal to that inuse. A diffusing lens or a diffusion plate may be used at the same timewith the cylindrical lens used as the diffusing means.

The sound sleep inducing apparatus of the present invention can besuitably used as lighting fixture or particularly as a desk light. Itmay be also mounted on a bed. The sound sleep inducing apparatus of thepresent invention is suitably used at hospitals and households. That is,the sound sleep inducing apparatus of the present invention may be usedfor lighting of a hospital room, and illuminance close to the face of apatient lying on the bed is adjusted and the patient is induced to soundsleep after the bedtime. By projecting the blue to green light withoutturning off the light at the bedtime, the periphery of the bed can beseen better and safety is improved. If the apparatus is mounted on thebed, the projection range of the ultra-narrow band light can becontrolled by a housing of the ultra-narrow band light projecting meanssimilarly to a usual desk light. A patient can be induced to sound sleepeven when the light is on or during bright daytime by irradiating onlyto the face portion of the patient.

Subsequently, a sound sleep inducing method of the present inventionwill be described. The sound sleep inducing method of the presentinvention is to diffuse and project ultra-narrow band light in blue togreen having a peak wavelength area of 430 to 550 nm and a halfbandwidth of 10 nm or less to the entire face of a person and to adjustilluminance at an eye position of the face to 20 to 250 lux. Accordingto this method, an excellent sound sleep inducing effect can beobtained.

Moreover, in the sound sleep inducing method of the present invention,the light is blue light having a peak wavelength area of 430 to 550 nmand a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less, and its illuminance at the eyeposition in the face is preferably adjusted to 20 to 120 lux. A strongsleep inducing effect can be obtained by the blue light having the halfbandwidth of 10 nm or less.

Moreover, in the sound sleep inducing method of the present invention,the light is green light having a peak wavelength area of 500 to 550 nmand a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less, and its illuminance at the eyeposition in the face is preferably adjusted to 50 to 250 lux. A relaxingand gentle sleep inducing effect can be obtained by the green lighthaving the half bandwidth of 10 nm or less.

Moreover, according to the sound sleep inducing method of the presentinvention, the ultra-narrow band light is projected by switching betweenthe following first ultra-narrow band light and second ultra-narrow bandlight, and in projection of the first ultra-narrow band light, theilluminance at the eye position in the face is adjusted to 20 to 120lux, while in projection of the second ultra-narrow band light, theilluminance is adjusted to 50 to 250 lux. The first ultra-narrow bandlight is blue ultra-narrow band light having a peak wavelength area of430 to 500 nm and a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less, while the secondultra-narrow band light is green ultra-narrow band light having a peakwavelength area of 500 to 550 nm and a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less.According to this method, sleep induction can be gently performed byalternately using the blue ultra-narrow band light having a strong sleepinducing effect and the green ultra-narrow band light having a relaxingand sleep inducing effect.

In the sound sleep inducing method of the present invention, the halfbandwidth of the ultra-narrow band light is more preferably 3 nm orless. Projection of the ultra-narrow band light having the halfbandwidth of 3 nm or less has more excellent sleep inducing effect thanprojection of the ultra-narrow band light having the half bandwidth of10 nm or less.

Effects of the Invention

According to the sound sleep inducing apparatus and the sound sleepinducing method of the present invention, an effect of promotingcomfortable sound sleep without giving a sense of psychologicallimitation or isolation can be obtained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a used image diagram of the sound sleep inducing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the sound sleep inducing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an example of spectrum of the ultra-narrow band light emittedfrom the sound sleep inducing apparatus.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention isnot limited to the illustrated construction. The present invention canbe variously changed in design.

FIG. 1 illustrates a used image diagram of the sound sleep inducingapparatus. A sound sleep inducing apparatus 1 induces sleep byirradiating the entirety of a face 21 of a person with ultra-narrow bandlight 20 in blue to green having a specific wavelength in apredetermined illuminance range.

FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the soundsleep inducing apparatus. The sound sleep inducing apparatus 1 includesa blue or green LED light source 7 having a half bandwidth of 20 to 40nm mounted on the bottom part of a cylindrical main body 2, a bandpassfilter 13 which narrows a wavelength band of light emitted from the LEDlight source 7, and a diffusing lens 12 which diffuses light in anultra-narrow band area passing through the bandpass filter 13 and havinga half bandwidth of 10 nm or less. An ON/OFF signal and power of the LEDlight source 7 is supplied through a signal/power cable 14. The bandpassfilter 13 and the diffusing lens 12 are mounted on a housing frame 15and are detachably attached to the cylindrical main body 2. Light in anultra-narrow band area having a desired half bandwidth can be created byreplacing the bandpass filter 13. An irradiation area can be adjusted byreplacing the diffusing lens 12.

As the LED light source 7, a parallel-light LED light source (modelnumber: IBF-LS) by IMAC Co., Ltd. can be used. The light emitted fromthe LED light source 7 is ultra-long cast directive light. The innerdiameter of the cylindrical main body 2, that is, a photo diameter ofthe parallel-light LED light source is approximately 5 cm, and thislight is diffused by the diffusing lens 12.

In the sound sleep inducing apparatus 1, as means for adjusting theilluminance of light in the ultra-narrow band area to be projected to ahuman face, intensity of the light source of the ultra-narrow band lightinside the sound sleep inducing apparatus 1 is adjusted by placing anilluminometer beside the eyes of the human face 21 or by replacing thediffusing lens in the sound sleep inducing apparatus 1.

It is also possible to incorporate an illuminance sensor in the soundsleep inducing apparatus 1, to place a mirror on the surface of theface, and by having the light reflected by the mirror measured by theilluminance sensor incorporated in the sound sleep inducing apparatus 1so that the intensity of the ultra-narrowband light in the light sourceis automatically adjusted. The illuminometer used for the measurement ofthe embodiment described below is a TOPCOM (registered trademark)illuminometer IM-5.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of spectrum of the ultra-narrow band lightemitted from the sound sleep inducing apparatus 1. The lateral axisindicates a wavelength and the vertical axis for intensity. The blueultra-narrow band light has a center wavelength (peak wavelength) at 460nm and a half bandwidth at 10 nm. The green ultra-narrow band light hasa center wavelength (peak wavelength) at 530 nm and a half bandwidth at10 nm.

Embodiment 11

In Example 1, the excellent sleep inducing effect of the sound sleepinducing apparatus will be provided, including:

1-1) ultra-narrow band light projecting means which generates blue togreen ultra-narrow band light having a peak wavelength area of 430 to550 nm and a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less;1-2) diffusing means which diffuses an irradiation area of the lightprojected from the ultra-narrow band light projecting means to theentire face of a person; and1-3) illuminance adjusting means which adjusts illuminance at an eyeposition of the face to 1 to 300 lux.

A clinical experiment was actually conducted for verifying the sleepinducing effect by using the sound sleep inducing apparatus for 100subjects including men and women with the ages of 20 to 70. The ratio ofmen to women was 30:70. The ratio of women is higher simply because ourclinic is specialized in cosmetic treatment and it does not have aspecial meaning. The ages of the subjects were 35 people in the 20's, 25people in the 30's, 25 people in the 40's, and 15 people in the 50 to60's. An example which will be described later was also conducted forthe same subjects. The sleep inducing effect as indicated in Table 1 wasobtained. In the Table, the number of those with a poor result was lessthan 40, those with fair was 40 to 59, these with good was 60 to 79, andthose with very good was 80 or more.

The result No. 1 in Table was obtained from determination of the sleepinducing effect by using some commercial LED light sources, each havinga center wavelength (peak wavelength) in a range of 430 to 550 nm. Inthe case of the commercial LED light sources, the half bandwidth wasvaried from 15 to 40 nm. The LED light source was brought close to theface so as to obtain the illuminance at the eye position in the face of1 to 450 lux, and the sleep inducing effect was determined. The resultNo. 2 in Table was obtained by using the No. 1 LED light source andconfiguring the sound sleep inducing apparatus configured as in FIG. 2.The light of the LED light source was set to the half bandwidth at 10 nmby using a bandpass filter. The sleep inducing effect was determined bybringing the LED light source close to the face to obtain theilluminance at the eye position in the face larger than 300 lux. Theresult No. 3 in Table was obtained by using the LED light source in No.2, by configuring the sound sleep inducing apparatus configured as inFIG. 2, and by using the diffusing lens to adjust the illuminance at theeye position in the face to 1 to 300 lux.

The result No. 10 is obtained by determining the sleep inducing effectby using some commercial LED light sources having the center wavelength(peak wavelength) outside the range of 430 to 550 nm. Specifically, thesleep inducing effect was determined by using the LED light source (halfbandwidth at 35 nm) having the center wavelength (peak wavelength) at405 nm and the LED light source (half bandwidth at 25 nm) having thecenter wavelength at 570 nm.

TABLE 1 Determination of the sleep No. inducing effect 1 LED having apeak wavelength of 430 to fair 550 nm 2 No. 1 LED having the halfbandwidth of good 10 nm or less 3 No. 2 LED having illuminance at theeye very good position in the face adjusted to 1 to 300 lux 10 LEDhaving the peak wavelength of 405 nm or poor 570 nm

Embodiment 2

Subsequently, in Example 2, the excellent sleep inducing effect of thesound sleep inducing apparatus will be described, including:

2-1) ultra-narrow band light projecting means which generates blueultra-narrow band light having a peak wavelength area of 430 to 500 nmand a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less;2-2) diffusing means which diffuses an irradiation area of the lightprojected from the ultra-narrow band light projecting means to theentire face of a person; and2-3) illuminance adjusting means which adjusts illuminance atan eye position of the face to 1 to 300 lux.

A clinical test was conducted by actually using the sound sleep inducingapparatus, and the sleep inducing effect as illustrated in Table 2 wasobtained.

TABLE 2 Determination of the sleep No. inducing effect 4 Blue LED havinga peak wavelength of 430 to fair 550 nm 5 No. 4 Blue LED having the halfbandwidth of good 10 nm or less 6 No. 5 Blue LED having illuminance atthe eye very good position in the face adjusted to 1 to 300 lux

Embodiment 3

Subsequently, in Example 3, the excellent sleep inducing effect of thesound sleep inducing apparatus will be described, including:

3-1) ultra-narrow band light projecting means which generates greenultra-narrow band light having a peak wavelength area of 500 to 530 nmand a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less;3-2) diffusing means which diffuses an irradiation area of the lightprojected from the ultra-narrow band light projecting means to theentire face of a person; and3-3) illuminance adjusting means which adjusts illuminance at an eyeposition of the face to 1 to 300 lux.

A clinical experiment was conducted by actually using the sound sleepinducing apparatus, and the sleep inducing effect as illustrated inTable 3 was obtained.

TABLE 3 Determination of the sleep No. inducing effect 7 Green LEDhaving a peak wavelength of 500 to fair 550 nm 8 No. 7 Green LED havingthe half bandwidth of good 10 nm or less 9 No. 8 Green LED havingilluminance at the eye very good position in the face adjusted to 1 to300 lux

Experiment data used for determination of the sleep inducing effect inTables 1 to 3 is illustrated in Table 4. Each No. here corresponds toNo. in Tables 1 to 3.

TABLE 4 20's 30's 40's 50 to 60's Total Non- Non- Non- Non- Non- No.Effective effective Effective effective Effective effective Effectiveeffective Effective effective 1 16 19 9 16 10 15 7 8 42 58 2 24 11 16 915 10 11 4 66 34 3 32 3 21 4 21 4 13 2 87 13 4 19 16 11 14 12 13 9 6 5149 5 26 9 19 6 18 7 12 3 75 25 6 34 1 22 3 22 3 14 1 92 8 7 6 29 4 21 520 3 12 18 82 8 18 17 10 15 11 14 5 10 44 56 9 22 13 16 9 17 8 9 6 64 3610 5 30 4 21 5 20 1 14 15 85

The 100 subjects of men and women in their 20's to 70's include 15insomnia monitors. The insomnia monitors refer to those who needsleeping pills when going to bed at night. The 15 insomnia monitors are5 men and 10 women and are composed of 2 men and 4 women in the 20's, 1man and 3 women in the 30's, 1 man and 2 women in the 40's, and 1 manand 1 woman in the 50 to 60's. The insomnia monitors are found to haveobtained the 100% effect in No. 3, No. 6, and No. 9.

Embodiment 4

In Example 4, the result of examination of a suitable value ofilluminance at the eye position in the face by using the ultra-narrowband light (No. 3, No. 6, and No. 9) having the half bandwidth of 10 nmin Examples 1, 2, and 3 is shown. In the ultra-narrow band light (No. 3,No. 6, and No. 9) having the half bandwidth of 10 nm in Examples 1, 2,and 3, the illuminance at the eye position in the face was set to 1, 15,20, 50, 80, 120, 125, 250, 300, 330 (lux), and the experiment wasconducted. The result of the sleep inducing effect as illustrated inTable 5 was obtained. In Table, those with a fair result were 40 to 59persons, those with good were 60 to 79 persons, those with very goodwere 80 to 92 persons, and those with NA were 93 persons or more.

TABLE 5 No. 1 15 20 50 80 120 125 250 300 330 3 good good very good NANA NA NA very good good faire 6 good good very good NA NA very good goodgood good faire 9 good good good very good NA NA NA very good good faire

Embodiment 5

In Example 5, the fact that the ultra-narrow band light having the halfbandwidth of 3 nm had a better sleep inducing effect than theultra-narrow band light having the half bandwidth of 10 nm in Examples1, 2, and 3 (No. 3, No. 6, and No. 9) will be described. Theultra-narrow band light having the half bandwidth of 3 nm was realizedby replacing the bandpass filter.

A clinical test was conducted by actually using the sound sleep inducingapparatus of the ultra-narrow band light having the half bandwidth of 3nm and the apparatus having the half bandwidth of 10 nm, and the resultof the sleep inducing effect as illustrated in Table 6 was obtained.Nos. in Table 6 correspond to Nos. in Tables 1 to 3. The numericalvalues in Table indicate the number of monitors with the higher sleepinducing effect by using the sound sleep inducing apparatus of theultra-narrow band light having the half bandwidth of 3 nm than theapparatus having the half bandwidth of 10 nm in the 100 monitors andthose with the higher sleep inducing effect by using the sound sleepinducing apparatus of the ultra-narrow band light having the halfbandwidth of 10 nm than the apparatus having the half bandwidth of 3 nm.

As illustrated in Table 6, 80% or more of the monitors obtained thehigher sleep inducing effect by using the sound sleep inducing apparatusof the ultra-narrow band light having the half bandwidth of 3 nm thanthe apparatus having the half bandwidth of 10 nm. The conditions otherthan the half bandwidth are the same.

TABLE 6 20's 30's 40' s 50 to 60's Total No. 3 nm 10 nm 3 nm 10 nm 3 nm10 nm 3 nm 10 nm 3 nm 10 nm 3 29 6 22 3 21 4 13 2 85 15 6 30 5 21 4 22 313 2 84 14 9 28 7 21 4 20 5 12 3 81 19

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is useful as an apparatus and a method forpromoting sleep.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS

-   -   1. Sound sleep inducing apparatus    -   2. Cylindrical main body    -   7. LED light source    -   12. Diffusing lens    -   13. Bandpass filter    -   14. Signal/Power cable    -   15. Housing frame    -   20. Person with ultra-narrow band light    -   21. Human face

What is claimed is:
 1. A sound sleep inducing apparatus comprising: anultra-narrow band light projecting means which generates ultra-narrowband light in blue to green having a peak wavelength area of 430 to 550nm and a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less; diffusing means which diffusesan irradiation area of the light projected from the ultra-narrow bandlight projecting means to the entire face of a person; and illuminanceadjusting means which adjusts illuminance at a position of an eye in theface to 1 to 300 lux.
 2. The sound sleep inducing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the illuminance adjusting means adjusts the illuminanceat the eye position in the face to 20 to 250 lux.
 3. A sound sleepinducing apparatus comprising: an ultra-narrow band light projectingmeans which generates blue ultra-narrow band light having a peakwavelength area of 430 to 500 nm and a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less;diffusing means which diffuses an irradiation area of the lightprojected from the ultra-narrow band light projecting means to theentire face of a person; and illuminance adjusting means which adjustsilluminance at a position of an eye in the face to 1 to 300 lux.
 4. Thesound sleep inducing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein theilluminance adjusting means adjusts the illuminance at the eye positionin the face to 20 to 120 lux.
 5. A sound sleep inducing apparatuscomprising: an ultra-narrow band light projecting means which generatesgreen ultra-narrow band light having a peak wavelength area of 500 to550 nm and a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less; diffusing means whichdiffuses an irradiation area of the light projected from theultra-narrow band light projecting means to the entire face of a person;and illuminance adjusting means which adjusts illuminance at a positionof an eye in the face to 1 to 300 lux.
 6. The sound sleep inducingapparatus according to claim 5, wherein the illuminance adjusting meansadjusts the illuminance at the eye position in the face to 50 to 250lux.
 7. The sound sleep inducing apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe ultra-narrow band light projecting means further includes: firstultra-narrow band light projecting means which generates blueultra-narrow band light having a peak wavelength area of 430 to 500 nmand a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less; second ultra-narrow band lightprojecting means which generates green ultra-narrow band light having apeak wavelength area of 500 to 550 nm and a half bandwidth of 10 nm orless; light-source switching means which switches between the firstultra-narrow band light projecting means and the second ultra-narrowband light projecting means; and control means which outputs a switchingsignal to the light-source switching means.
 8. The sound sleep inducingapparatus according to claim 7, wherein the illuminance adjusting meansadjusts the illuminance at the eye position in the face to 20 to 120 luxfor the projection from the first ultra-narrow band light projectingmeans and to 50 to 250 lux for the projection from the secondultra-narrow band light projecting means.
 9. The sound sleep inducingapparatus according to any one of claims 1, 3, 5 or 7, wherein the halfbandwidth in the ultra-narrow band light projecting means is 3 nm orless.
 10. The sound sleep inducing apparatus according to any one ofclaims 1, 3, 5 or 7, wherein energy at the irradiated portion is 1.0J/cm or less.
 11. The sound sleep inducing apparatus according to anyone of claims 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9, wherein the ultra-narrow band lightprojecting means is composed of an LED light source and a bandpassfilter which narrows the wavelength band of the light emitted from theLED light source.
 12. The sound sleep inducing apparatus according toany one of claims 1, 3, 5 or 7, wherein the diffusing means is composedof at least any one of a diffusing lens, a cylindrical lens and adiffusing plate.
 13. A lighting fixture provided with the sound sleepinducing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to
 12. 14. A desklight provided with the sound sleep inducing apparatus according to anyone of claims 1 to
 12. 15. A bed provided with the sound sleep inducingapparatus according to any one of claims 1 to
 12. 16. A sound sleepinducing method characterized in that: ultra-narrow band light in blueto green having a peak wavelength area of 430 to 550 nm and a halfbandwidth of 10 nm or less is diffused and projected to the entire faceof a person and illuminance at an eye position in the face is adjustedto 20 to 250 lux.
 17. The sound sleep inducing method according to claim16, wherein the ultra-narrow band light is blue light having a peakwavelength area of 430 to 500 nm and a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less,and the illuminance at the eye position in the face is adjusted to 20 to120 lux.
 18. The sound sleep inducing method according to claim 16,wherein the ultra-narrow band light is green light having a peakwavelength area of 500 to 550 nm and a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less,and the illuminance at the eye position in the face is adjusted to 50 to250 lux.
 19. The sound sleep inducing method according to claim 16,wherein the ultra-narrow band light is projected by switching betweenfirst ultra-narrow band light in blue having a peak wavelength area of430 to 500 nm and a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less and secondultra-narrow band light in green having a peak wavelength area of 500 to550 nm and a half bandwidth of 10 nm or less, and in projection of thefirst ultra-narrow band light, the illuminance at the eye position inthe face is adjusted to 20 to 120 lux, while in projection of the secondultra-narrow band light, the illuminance is adjusted to 50 to 250 lux.20. The sound sleep inducing method according to any one of claims 16 to19, wherein the half bandwidth in the ultra-narrow band light is 3 nm orless.